[einstrigger]

My wife and I just returned from a 4 day weekend at Disneyland to not only celebrate our anniversary (1 year), but Halloween as well. I had my K-x in hand and shot like a madman. I found that by the end of the 1st day, I had to tone it down a little, not only because all my gear was weighing heavier and heavier, but I wasn't paying attention to my wife (too busy shooting)

Anyhow, I still consider myself a newbie despite the fact I've had the K-x (my first DSLR) since November 2009 (it's almost a year old ), but I wanted to share some of the things I learned.

Lessons Learned

1. Pack light!

I had several lenses, a flash, and a tripod but did not end up using most of it. It was nice to have "just in case", but I rarely used much of the gear (i.e. tripod). I learned my lesson after sore shoulders on the first day. From then on, it was the 12-24mm on the camera and the DA 70mm waiting in my bag.

2. The 12-24mm is my friend.

Wow. I rarely ever used this lens until Disney, but it ended up being stuck on my K-x for the majority of our time there.







3. Disney Photopass shooters are not "experts".

I kinda feel a little pity for these guys. They are Disney employees scattered around the park who will take your picture for you. Equipped with Nikon D70's they are always near the scenic spots or Disney Characters. People seem to expect them to know how to operate all makes and models of cameras.

4. Disney is great for HDR!

I've never tried HDR photography until Disney. I saw the other threads recommending Photomatix and I've since been playing around with it. All the below were hand held because I hated carrying around my tripod. Some of my first forays into HDR...







5. Last, but not least, pay attention to your wife/significant other!

I found myself often losing my wife in the crowd because I stopped to shoot something while she continued to walk away A grumpy wife is not a fun wife when you're celebrating your anniversary. I did try to justify the fact that she would have nice pictures to post up on Facebook Needless to say, I toned down the shooting a little and we lived happily ever after Thanks for reading.


Taken by the Photopass Folks:

,

[KarenH]

LOl about your story. Give your wife a camera too, I can assure that will help.

And what a great, colourful shots. It makes you happy only looking at them, don't need to go to Disneyland myself I like the first one best, great reflections.

[Rense]

Haha, great comments! Love the story, love the photos!

[legacyb4]

Like the colors!

I took the family earlier this year as well and found after a while, the camera got in the way of having fun with the kids and I ended up just taking the requisite shots here and there but left my creative ambition back at the motel...

[einstrigger]

Give your wife a camera too, I can assure that will help.

Funny enough, I did offer her the K-x with the Tamron 18-200mm super zoom, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. I figured in Auto/Green mode, that combination would work basically like a point and shoot.

[KarenH]

Funny enough, I did offer her the K-x with the Tamron 18-200mm super zoom, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. I figured in Auto/Green mode, that combination would work basically like a point and shoot.

That's too bad.
I was always waiting for my husband to finish his shots, but since I've got my own, he's the one who has to wait

[twitch]

Thats for taking the time to post this excellent writeup and equally excellent photos.

[Arpe]

Disney is great for HDR!

Read this and you may change your mind:
Disney Thinks Photographers Are Terrorists William Beem Photography

[Ira]

Beautiful stuff!

[Nowhere Matt]

Some good advice here.

My family and I went to Disney World in April for the first time, spending four days at the parks.
The first three days I did choose to concentrate more on the family and the here and now. Oh it was a struggle to not he able to capture a moment well with my dslr. I used my wife's point and shoot to preserve some moments. But we went during a busy time. Moving quickly sometimes, people taking up the space in the scenery and many other cameras pointing in all directions.
Our last day was a half day spent at one of the parks. The crowd was just a bit smaller and I could do a little more of what I wanted feeling like the others really enjoyed the trip to that point. That day I took my K-7 and got a few other images to compliment those taken with the pocket
camera.

[einstrigger]

Read this and you may change your mind:
Disney Thinks Photographers Are Terrorists William Beem Photography

I remember reading about that in another forum speaking to photographer rights. Anyhow, for Disneyland, everyone has to be screened by security before entering the park. I had no one hassling me whatsoever and given the amount of people walking around with DSLR, it would be pretty obnoxious to get picked out and stopped.

I guess that leads to the sixth thing I learned while I was there.

#6. Nobody shoots with Pentax.

Aside from myself, I only saw one other person carrying a Pentax and she was also using a Kx. The bulk of DSLRs I saw being toted around the park were either Nikons or Canons. The majority were entry levels (e.g. D3000, EOS, etc.) using the standard kit lenses. I only saw one person using a Sony Alpha while waiting in line and maybe even one Panasonic micro 4/3rds.

[Groucho]

Read this and you may change your mind:
Disney Thinks Photographers Are Terrorists William Beem Photography

That article is one disgruntled guy. Disney is extremely permissive when it comes to photography. On-ride photos (as long as you don't use flash on the dark rides), tripods, etc, no problem. There are only a very few attractions where you are not allowed to take photos. I've carried around a tripod with the legs extended at later hours with no problem, and set up tripods during fireworks and similar shows in crowded areas with no complaints from anyone (as long as you at least try to be courteous.)

I do a ton of Disney photography and find the parks to be one of the most interesting and challenging places to photograph. There's something for every time of photography. I am a regular on the Disboards photography forum, which is all about Disney photography - and there are a good number of Pentax shooters there. The K-x has understandly been very popular in this group for it's fun colors and great high ISO performance - which can be a huge consideration for photography there due to so many dark areas.

I will offer a different perspective on a couple points...
I cannot pack light because I cannot come up with an excuse to carry less than at least six lenses at all times. Crazy perhaps, but I use them all.
And while I love shooting wide, I much prefer a fisheye over an UWA at Disney. But then, I feel that way no matter where I'm shooting - but a fisheye is especially fun.

[Super A-wesome]

Cool stuff! Is that a Russell Costume, from UP?

[SpecialK]

Very nice. Though I'm not really a fan of HDR I will give those a thumbs up as well.

[einstrigger]

Cool stuff! Is that a Russell Costume, from UP?

Good eye! Yes, I was dressed as Russell from Up! and my wife as Snow White.